SB 104-09: COMET Act of 2021 (Passed)

[If my soul was made of stone]

AYE

[Kuumo]

Aye

[OSR stands with Israel]

Aye

[Dr. MB]

Aye

[Saint Milei]

Nay

[Senator-elect Spark]

Aye

[OBD]

Aye

[Joseph Cao]

Aye.

[Former President tack50]

Aye

[Joseph Cao]

This passes the Senate by a vote of 11-1-1-5.

[Joseph Cao]

AN ACT
To make sure that schools have educational devices for their students and high speed internet in schools.


Be it enacted by the Senate of the Republic of Atlasia assembled,

Section 1. Title

This legislation may be cited as the Creating Opportunities for More Educational Technology (COMET) Act of 2021.

Section 2. Content

1. $75 billion shall be appropriated to school districts and homeschooling students across Atlasia for purchasing devices and educational software.
   a. This may include purchasing any of the following for educational use:
      i. laptops,
      ii. tablets,
      iii. desktop computers.
   b. All devices purchased under subsection (a) shall permit installation (and, if necessary, purchase) of the following forms of educational software as necessary:
      i. access to online courses,
      ii. supplemental course materials,
      iii. software systems that aid students in effective learning or comprehension.
   c. Individual schools shall be responsible for determining the choice of devices in subsection (a) and educational software in subsection (b) according to students' learning requirements.
   d. Funds shall be administered to school districts in the following phases, with the cost of the first and second phases not to exceed $20 billion each and succeeding phases not to exceed $15 billion:
      i. phase one, targeting school districts with a median household income in the bottom quintile nationwide, to be completed no later than September 1, 2023;
      ii. phase two, targeting school districts with a median household income in the second quintile nationwide, to be completed no later than September 1, 2025;
      ii. phase three, targeting school districts with a median household income in the third quintile nationwide, to be completed no later than September 1, 2027;
      iv. phase four, targeting school districts with a median household income in the top two quintiles nationwide, to be completed no later than September 1, 2029.
2. No school shall be entitled for treatment as required in section 1 if:
   a. it has an endowment of more than $50,000,000;
   b. it serves a school district with a median household income in the top 10% of households nationwide; or
   c. it has received educational devices or software under federal, state, regional, or private schemes within the last two years from the passage of this Act.
3. Funding for this section will be available for two years and then subject to a full review to analyze its educational effectiveness. The Senate shall then decide whether to continue funding for an additional three years.
4. The Government of the Republic of Atlasia shall have full responsibility for funding everything in this Act.
5. No federal government funds may be used for purchase of new or additional school security equipment, including but not limited to surveillance cameras, facial recognition devices, or metal detectors.

Section 3. Support Services

1. Tech Support will include using the existing school technical support staff, who will be eligible to receive training in the relevant devices and technologies.
2. An Atlasian Education Tech Support networking website shall be created by the Department of Education to enable better support of those making use of this program.
3. Devices are the property of the Republic of Atlasia and may be bought at the end of their period of life for $1. There will be no further support provided in relation to this act after this point.
4. Devices not purchased at end of life are to be returned for refurbishment. These will then be used as backup and replacement devices for broken, stolen damaged devices.

Section 4. Taking Effect

1. This Act shall take effect immediately following the passage of this bill.

Passed 11-1-1-5 in the Atlasian Senate assembled,


Joseph Cao, president pro tempore

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Hold on a minute...

3. Devices are the property of the Republic of Atlasia and may be bought at the end of their period of life for $1. There will be no further support provided in relation to this act after this point.

So if I'm reading this correctly, we're selling these devices for $1?

[Joseph Cao]

Hold on a minute...

3. Devices are the property of the Republic of Atlasia and may be bought at the end of their period of life for $1. There will be no further support provided in relation to this act after this point.

So if I'm reading this correctly, we're selling these devices for $1?

We're able to enable devices to be sold to others, either for the usual end-of-life actions (recycling of components, etc.) or whatever purposes the school districts deem necessary.

[Deep Dixieland Senator, Muad'dib (OSR MSR)]

Hold on a minute...

3. Devices are the property of the Republic of Atlasia and may be bought at the end of their period of life for $1. There will be no further support provided in relation to this act after this point.

So if I'm reading this correctly, we're selling these devices for $1?

Only should the student wish to purchase this at end of life. Essentially means they aren't covered by warranty etc.